Day of Sorrowful Remembrance
by Annilus
Summary: Death and sadness were inches away in the small village of Konoha. A large storm had erupted, and gave everyone that lived in the village a shiver going up and down their spine. Death was definitely approaching, and many felt they knew whose.


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Day of Sorrowful Remembrance

_A Naruto story_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This is only a fanfiction, and does not claim to use any of the characters of Naruto as its own idea, nor the setting and basic underlying of story.**

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The strong winds whipped cold air across his arms and head, leaving a stinging sensation behind every strong gust that blowed in his direction. He breathed hard through his mouth and watched as it turned into vapor and vanished into the violent storm above. A rumble was heard from the sky, and a loud crack of thunder ripped through the night air and crackled in his ears, leaving him momentarily deaf.

Little raindrops fell from the bushy clouds, feeling like a light, caressing touch. After a few seconds, it started to pick up its pace, and the raindrops came down harder and larger. soon, his hair was pulled down over his eyes and plastered on his head, forcing him to lift a hand and pull away the hair to the side so he could see. he felt his new black-and-orange shirt cling onto his body uncomfortably, and his best blue jeans become soggy and sticky.

Every step he took he felt water seep into his shoes and wet his socks and feet. His body had goose-bumps all over and had made him really itchy. The streets were covered in water and the few people that were still outside were making a desperate break for the safety and comfort of their home. He would have been doing the same, but he was on a mission. He told himself he would do this no matter what happened. He made a promise to her, and he never breaks his promises.

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A young, pink-haired lady gave an exasperated sigh and stared out of her bedroom window towards the thunderous clouds that covered the black sky. She noticed that the full, glowing moon seemed to bathe her room in a soft swimming light, and it gave her a feeling of undesirable comfort. Her friend and teammate has been missing for three days now, with no reports of anyone seeing the famous shinobi anywhere. It was like he just went and vanished, and she felt that she should feel sadness and misery, not comfort.

The windows glass started to get blurry from the consistently large raindrops to the point where the moon looked like a shining white paint splatter. she turned away and lay her back upon her soft cushioned bed, pulling the covers over her slim body and feeling the instant warmth spread all around her. She pulled the fluffy blankets even closer, clutching them to her chest. She bit her lip in an attempt to stop the tears from falling, but it made no difference.

As the storm went on strong, she felt herself become weak, as she wept silently in the safety and comfort of her room, teardrops staining her delicate face, with tightly shut eyes in a desperate hope that she could just fall asleep forever and forget about everything. She didn't want to believe it, she would do anything not to, but she knew...she knew he was gone. He was never coming back. He was dead.

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The blonde Hokage instantly knew, when the first crackle of thunder announced itself, that something was wrong. She had an intense gut feeling that something horrible was going to happen today, that misery and death will follow through before the night ends and day begins. She wasn't quite sure what exactly was going to happen, but she had a good thought on what it was. He has been missing for a few days now, and since a very sudden violent storm on such a nice day was definitely a bad omen in her books, that must mean that he was in danger of some kind, most likely of the life-threatening type. To top it off, she still feels miserable even though she has been drunk for most of the days he has been gone. She eyed the sake bottle that lay empty on her desk with dissatisfaction, appalled by the fact that she couldn't drown herself in alcohol and forget about all her worries like she always had.

Even knowing that, she still reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a bottle sake, popping off the cap and guzzling it down. She relished the burning sensation she felt go down her throat, and leaned back in her chair and found a comfortable position, which mainly consisted of propping her legs onto the desk and putting her head onto the cushioned back of her seat. She shut her eyes and wished for a deep sleep, trying to put all the discomfort to the very back of her mind and forget about what had transpired or not worry about what will. She found that when you just let things be as they are, then everything will work itself out. That was what she planned to do.

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A lone man stood in front of the grave of his dead best friend. His silver, spiky hair whipped around in the strong winds of the storm. His Jonin outfit was drenched from the heavy droplets of water rapidly falling from the sky, but he paid no heed. He focused only on the dirt in front of the grave, where is friend lay in peace. Tears mixed with the rain and dripped down from his face, as memories of the man in the ground littered his mind.

The tears he shed were not necessarily from sadness. The memories that came to him were those of when he truly felt happy, even if at that time he didn't show it. They were more like tears of acceptance. He knew his dear friend was dead, and he understood that he couldn't change it no matter how hard he tried. So he accepted it, even if it still made him cry.

What made him feel really horrible, though, was the fact that his pupil might end up just like his friend, dead. He has been missing for over three days, and it didn't look like he would be coming back any time soon. It was a strong possibility that the Akatsuki found and captured him to extract the demon inside him, and kill him in the process. That did not sit well with him.

He has lost all hope for anyone now. It seemed that people who got close to him ends up dieing or hating him, as his other pupil already does. He doesn't blame her either, as he hates himself, too. He felt that he lost meaning in this cruel world he lives in, and that every second of the day is torturous. In short, he was completely and utterly miserable. Even so, that is no excuse for giving up. He will fight to survive and help the people he loves, even if he is not one of those people. He will commit his life towards the destruction of the people that have ruined his life, Akatsuki. They killed his best friend, and they killed his pupil. He will return the favor, and kill them.

* * *

Heavy footsteps resonated down the the street, giving off an eery echo. A well dressed, golden-haired young man walked towards his hidden destination. He was carrying a brutally injured person on his back. They both looked like they were an inch away from death. As a loud shout of thunder split the cold night air, the young man finally collapsed onto the wet, un-inviting ground. Blood seeped through scantily closed wounds and quickly mixed with the puddles of water that already lay on the ground, leaving dark red pools around the two bodies.

The blonde one looked up from the ground and stared toward a particular apartment house owned by a pink-haired young maiden with longing, as if wishing he was in that apartment with her before this had happened, wishing he listened to her when she said not to worry about it. He saw the tears she held back when she said that, and he knew she didn't actually mean it. He never wanted to see his pink-haired goddess cry. He promised her that he would bring her love back, no matter what. He fulfilled that promise, and if he knew that she would be happy for the rest of her life, he could glady die right here.

The young man smiled then, even with the blood dripping from the corners of his mouth. His vibrant blue eyes still contained a fire in them, even if it was slowly dimming. He felt himself give in to his body, and relaxed all his muscles. He then laughed, fallen tears leaving streaks on his bruised and bloody face, and closed his eyes tightly, wishing for death to take him quietly and quickly. He took one last final breath, trying to take in as much of the world as possible, before falling completely silent under the sad gaze of the moon.

Everyone felt a pulse that stormy night as if it was the last of a dying heartbeat from a great hero, and soon after, the rain suddenly dampened into a light, slow pattern, and the clouds parted and let the moon shine full towards a lonely street where two young men lay. The citizens and shinobi alike in Konoha felt despair, they remembered those forgotten, dead loved ones and others they didn't even know. There was a great silence that fell over the village that lasted only a few minutes. Even so, those few minutes felt like a lifetime, where sorrow and pain spread spread through their mind like a sickness that would only disappear if they acknowledged it was there. That fateful day was then after called Day of Sorrowful Remembrance, and when that day came everyone would spend a few minutes to remember those that died.

The day after the renowned Day of Sorrowful Remembrance, They found the bodies of two young men. One had died, but the other, although just barely, managed to survive, and live. As for the people who knew the one that died that night, they fell into a strong depression. Some lasted only a few weeks, others a few years. For one pink-haired kunoichi, that depression lasted for a lifetime. The young man's sensei had died a few months after that day. He fought and killed two of the Akatsuki members before being slain by the leader. He never knew the truth. As for the young, black-haired man that was carried on the blonde's back, he disappeared shortly after leaving the hospital. Nobody knows of his current whereabouts, or if he was still alive. They say he changed his name and his looks so that nobody could recognize him. The hokage resigned a few days after they found the his body, and left Konoha to pursuit her gambling career. She has a winning streak of 100 and counting.

Everyone felt like they lost something important that stormy day. I suppose they all did. As for the dead young man, his body was put into an ornamental coffin suitable for a hokage. Except, when they opened it so they could put some money in for his journey to the nether realm, he wasn't there. Nobody thought of it much, figuring that someone had already took his body out and buried it elsewhere.

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People have recently reported to have seen a mysterious blonde man with what looked like whisker marks on his cheeks, but just figured it was someone who felt the need to worship the hero more by taking on his look, and thought nothing more of it. A few months they saw the mysterious man, the pink-haired woman that lived in the apartment on the street the blonde died on had disappeared without anyone knowing where she went. People also reported to have seen a pink-haired woman that looked exactly like the one that lived in the old apartment, but thought of it as just mere coincidence. Eventually, everyone got on with their normal lives, and Konoha grew larger and greater with the legend of the blonde hero backing them up with fame. The leaf village was very prosperous and gained notoriety for having the strongest shinobi in all of the hidden villages.

"Too bad we couldn't be a part of it all. Right, my pink-haired goddess?" Said a certain blonde male with his usual over-happy voice, usually reserved for when he is making an attempt at a joke or being sarcastic. He then leaned over and gave a loving peck on said pink-haired goddess' lips. "Heh, I bet we would've been worshiped like kings and queens if we went back there!"

"I'd much rather be here, in the great North Americas, enjoying the worship you already give me, my cute little monkey." She replied with a laugh and grin at her husband's theatrics. He gave a her a small little frown as if she hurt his feelings, but then laughed and tickled her as punishment for being so mean.

So there they were, two highly trained and deadly shinobi, one presumed dead, and the other missing, rolling and laughing atop Mt. McKinley. What a crazy world it must be.

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**A/N: Well, that was a hell of a ride, no? Sorry to anyone who was hoping I would update my other story. I can't really say when I will update, but I will try to finish the next chapter for it soon. Hopefully. Anyways, hoped you liked this one. Not sure where it came from, I guess I just wanted to write a bit of Angst. If you did enjoy it, please review! I've found a new addiction, and that is getting and reading your wonderful reviews. Even if it is critism (Constructive, hopefully!). I would love to hear your thoughts on this one, as I myself find it kinda quirky, and since I kinda left some guessing room for what happened exactly, I'd love to hear your conclusions. Wouldn't that be fun? Also, thanks to kabata4life for pointing out my mistake with my little Himalaya accident. Fixed it up with Mt. McKinley instead, as it is the near equivalent for North America. I suppose I should do some research before putting in something pretty dumb as I did. **


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